Skulduggery Pleasant: Dead Woman Walking
by Seraphic Calamitious
Summary: Seraphic Calamitious is the step-daughter of Skulduggery Pleasant. She has everything she needs. But when Skulduggery's past catches up with him, she's stuck in the middle. Rubbish summary, but it's my first attempt, so please give it a go and be nice. Please? Valduggery later... Possibly... R R. :-). Xxx
1. The Meeting

She had stood her ground through thick and thin, she had battled monsters the size of cathedrals, she was even close to the Skeleton Detective himself, but she had never done this. She may aswell jump off a cliff. It'd be less dangerous. She shook her head and jumped off the roof onto the ground beneath.  
Seraphic Calamitious looked into the night. It was cold in Ireland. Then again, when was it not cold in Ireland? She much prefered England. After all, she had been born and part-raised there. The other part she was raised somewhere in Northern Ireland. She wasn't totally sure where. But none of that mattered right now.  
Seraphic turned her attention to the job in hand. A group of women walked by, not noticing her in the shadows. She waited until she could hear them no longer, then crept out into the night. The person she was looking for sat near the fountain. Her legs were crossed neatly. Her outfit was excuisite. Her eyes were the palest blue. China Sorrows turned her delicate head and looked at her.  
"I thought you'd never come."  
Seraphic sat next to her. "I had to, didn't I? I mean, if I hadn't turned up you know who would have come in my place. And you know he wouldn't be very happy to see you."  
"How is Skulduggery, by the way? Hope he isn't too angry still."  
She shot China a glare. "Don't joke about such things. You led his wife to her death. If that isn't serious, then I don't know what is. Maybe the fact that you were there through all of his torture, his pain. But then again, why would his pain and suffering, or any one elses for that matter, affect you?  
If it isn't you, it isn't improtant. Right?"  
China sighed and turned away. "I cared for him. Hell, I even loved him at one point, and I can't ask to be forgiven-"  
"What? Are you going totorture him into forgiving you?"She sneered. "You don't stand a chance love."  
China gave her a cold stare, but Seraphic didn't even bat an eyelid.  
She gave up on trying to over-power her, and turned to taunting her instead.  
"So, where's your parents?" She saw Seraphic chenth both her fists and her jaw. A smile crept onto her face.  
"You know where China. You know what happened." It was true. She did know. When Seraphic was a child, her parents went off to fight in the war against Mevolent. She was left with her auntie. Unfortunately, her parents were killed in battle. When her aunt heard about this, she hid Seraphic under the bed and ran out into the street. She was captured by Serpine and tortured to death. She stayed hidden for a few hours, but, like any normal 4 year old, she got bored, and left the house. At this time,  
Meritorious' men were patrolling the streets looking for survivors. The great Skeleton Detective found her and took her in. To this day she kept in contact with him. China stood up and her hand slipped into her pocket. "Here," she muttered, taking out a small brown envolope. "Give this to him, will you?  
Please." Seraphic paused, before taking it and putting it into her own pocket.  
"I don't want to hear from you again, understood? It's a clear sign to hop it when you have to go through the step-daughter." China gave the smallest of nods then walked away. After a minute, Seraphic looked around,  
then splayed her hands, and shot off into the shadows.


	2. The Truth Or Not The Truth?

Seraphic opened the door to her apartment and sighed. Her cat, Nibbles, ran up to her and started to purr. She smiled and closed the door, being careful not to catch Nibbles' tail. The last time she did that, she got the claws from hell scratching all down her leg, then some apoligetic licks later.

She went through to the kitchen and made herself some hot chocolate, then wandered into the room. The T.V was switched on to a football match with her favourite team Man United playing the dreaded Chelsea.

"Come on!" She waved her arms in the air. "My granny could have scored that!" She had never even met her granny, yet that's all she seemed to shout when she watched the footy.

As she sat down, something poked her leg. Frowning, she looked down to see the envolope from China sticking out her pocket. She carefully pulled it out then placed it on the table, turned off the telly, and went to bed.

_She heard a scream and got out from under the bed._

_"Auntie Gemima?" She shouted as she searched the rooms for her aunt. The house she had once laughed and had fun in now stood silent. No noise could be heard._

_"Auntie Gemima?" Tears began their long journey down her face._

_She stopped in the hall. There was a noise outside. A drum... No, footsteps... A knock on the door followed._

_"Auntie Gemima!" She ran to the front door and pulled it open. A skeleton stood there. She screamed._

Seraphic sat up and frowned. Why was this the only dream she could remember? Her worst memory. Losing both parents, an aunt and meeting the remnants of a deadman. She turned and looked at the clock on the table near her bed. 5:30.

Sighing, she got dressed.

* * *

Seraphic played with the envolope in her hands. She was on her way to Gordon's manor to meet Valkyrie and Skulduggery. She hadn't seen them in four weeks and she missed talking to them.

As she came up to the drive she started to think. _What if the envolope just makes things worse? What if he asks how I got it? What if... What if he hates me for giving it to him? She got to the door and knocked. A moment later, Valkyrie answered._

"Hi! I haven't seen you in ages! Skul will be so happy to see you. Go on through, he's in the living room."Valkyrie moved out the way to let Seraphic pass and closed the door after her.

"Hey Skul. How are you?" She sat down next to him. He didn't answer.

"He's not ina good mood." Valkyrie said, shooting a glare at Skulduggery.  
"It seems his manners are in a bad mood too."

"What's wrong?" She turned to face Valkyrie.

"China tried to contact him... Again. Third time this week. He's getting sick of her now.

"Oh." Her hand went to her pocket containing the envolope. "Shall I go and make us some tea?"

Valkyrie nodded. "Oh, yes please. Skul?" He gave a small nod.

As Seraphic stood up, the envolope fell out her pocket. Valkyrie nodded to it.

"What's that then?" She looked round to Skulduggery, who was watching her every move.

"Nothing," she said, retreiving it off the floor. "Just an old shopping list from last week, that's all." She gave a tight smile, then went into the kitchen.


	3. Mood Swings And Suprise Voices

Seraphic brought in the cups of tea and set them out on the table. Valkyrie had switched places and was now sat next to Skulduggery, talking to him. His head was a little higher than before but the air around him was still not happy. Seraphic smiled. She was glad Valkyrie was their friend. She could make anything better.

"Do you want to go see a movie later?" Valkyrie bit her lip. Skulduggry looked at her.

"Why not? I mean, it's better than moping about here all day. My ego will only dim if I'm stuck inside, and no one wants that." Valkyrie raised her eyebrows in suprise. They did not expect that.

Growing up with Skulduggery had given her time to build up her own ego, and when hers failed, he would always make a joke about borrowing some of his. He was a cool father. Well, as cool as fathers get, anyway. He still embarassed he by showing up at every parents evening dressed in a suit, hat, scarf, gloves and laughed at the memory of her teachers being greeted by this covered man and then recoiling slightly.

"What?" She was brought back to reality by the image of Valkyrie wearing a puzzled expression aimed at her. Seraphic felt herself blush a little.

"Nothing, just something on the telly." Then she frowned, and turned to the telly. It wasn't on. She cursed herself in her head, then turned back to face Valkyrie, who was even more puzzled.

"Last night, I mean... I watched telly last night..." She faltered. They weren't falling for it. She sighed and reached for her tea. After a sip or two, she looked back at them. They were looking at each other.

"Well, are we going to the movies or not?"She put on another tight smile, then stood up.

"Not today, Seraphic," Valkyrie answered. Seraphic frowned.

"Why ever not? You said you wanted to go a few minutes ago, what changed?" She was getting angry, but she didn't know why.

"We just-"

"Never mind," she snapped. "We can go another time. That is, if you aren't too busy not wanting to spend time with me." Skulduggery stood up.

"Now listen here," Now she was in toruble. "We just don't want to go today, ok? It's nothing to do with not wanting to spend time with you, we just want to stay in today. So-"

"Oh, shut up!" She glared at them. "What is wrong with you two today? I came here to talk to you and possibly have fun, yet you are giving me a cold shoulder. Just forget I even came!"

Seraphic stood up and left the house.

* * *

She pulled the apartment door open and slammed it shut. Nibbles had witnessed all of this and went as quickly as she came. Upon seeing this, she remembered Valkyrie and Skulduggery, and their behaviour towards her.

Seraphic's eyes started to water. But instead of tears of sorrow, they were tears of anger. Why had they been like that? Yes, he was annoyed with China but did they really need to shun her away like that? The answer. No.

She sat on the chair for a cry session when something stabbed at her leg again. Her hand grabbed the letter and she looked at it. Her nail slipped under the seal and..

_STOP! DON'T OPEN IT!_

Seraphic jumped at the voice. Who was it? She looked around but no one was there. She resumed opening the envolope.

_DID YOU NOT HEAR ME THE FIRST TIME?! STOP!_

"Who is it?" Seraphic put the envolope on the arm of the chair and stood up, being careful not to bump into this mystery voice.

_JUST DON'T, WHATEVER YOU DO, OPEN THAT LETTER!_

There was a silence, then a window at the back of the house closed.  
Seraphic stood there, shaking. She grabbed her coat, the letter, her keys, and ran out the apartment.

* * *

**Sorry if my chapters are a little bit short. And I know they suck. But it makes me feel a bit better when people R+R. Please keep reading, and remember, always listen to your Gran, no matter how crazy she is. Xxx**


	4. The Hunted's Decision

Seraphic ran and ran, and didn't stop until she came to the park. Whoever was in her apartment had gone and hopefully would stay gone. It was a man, and he sounded at least 30. But with magic, he could have been over 200 years old. Ah magic, she thought, one of your downsides...

She slowed at the fountain in the park centre and sat on the edge. When she was little,Skulduggery would bring her here to play in the water. She remembered the first time Skulduggery taught her magic. He said "Do you like water?" and she had said "Why?". He then pushed her in, soaking her to the core. She was an Elemental so she taught herself how to control water. She suprised him by squirting water all on his suit, then climbing out and drying herself. He stood there and laughed.

Seraphic smiled at her memory, but that smile soon faded. At the other end of the park was a figure in black robes. She frowned and stood up. As she did so, the figure was swallowed by the shadows and disappeared.

Seraphic glared at where the figure had been a moment ago, then sat back down. She looked once again at the envolope in her hands. Should she open it? Her arms raised to the sky.

"Oh, Almighty God, give me a sign. Should I open this envolope or not?" Silence. She dropped her arms and sighed. That never worked. She smiled at another memory of Skulduggery praying to God for Chelsea to be struck down on the pitch while playing Man U. Unfortunately, Chelsea won 3:0. He took her for ice cream afterwards to cheer her up (she really knew it was to cheer Skulduggery up instead of her).

She sighed again and began to think of Skulduggery,her step-father who had always been there for her. When she was ill, when she had problems, even for her magic training, he was always there. Then she thought of what her life would be like if she hadn't opened the door all those years ago. She wouldn't be living here or have all the things she did. Well, she probably wouldn't be alive. She put that thought aside.

Seraphic tried to imagine her parents, all smily and happy and toughtful. But she couldn't. in fact, when she thought of them, they were often covered in thblood of others they had killed in the war. This made her unhappy and often cry. But she had already cried today, and she was bored of crying. Like doing homework on a sunny day, it was sooo boring.

As that thought ended, she heard a sound behind her. She froze, then felt the air currents. The person was about 5ft 4in, probably a man the way he was standing. She would never beat him, unless...

She whirled, and obviously took him by suprise, She snapped her palms and the man fell intothe icy water below. She glimpsed his face. He had sharp features and black, fair hair. She knew him. Solomon Wreath.

"What are you doing Seraphic?" He splashed about in the pond then stood up. She helped him out then dried him off.

"Sorry, I thought you were-"

"Where's the envolope?" He held out his hand. She frowned.

"How do you know about that?"

"China," he said, inching closer.

"You're not getting it. I gave it to Skulduggery already."

"Ah," he said, smiling. "I know you're lying." He inched closer again.

"How do you know?"

He smirked. "You shouted to God a few minutes ago." Great.

She ran, losing him in moments. She twisted and turned down any street available, knowing he coundn't guess her next move and shadow-walk infront of her. She hid round a corner and waited until she could hear him approaching. She timed her movements perfectly and she felt her fist connect with his face. He was out cold before he hit the ground.

She jogged the last 50 metres to her apartment and went in, not noticing Nibbles at her side. She has to open this envolope, no matter what strange voive she heard of Necromancer came after her. She was opening the letter.

* * *

**A little cliff hanger for all my fans. I know you want the letter... You crave it too much... But even I don't know what's in the envolope...Will update tomorrow at about 8:00-8:30. Love you, and don't forget to eat your potatoes. They make you green... Xxx**


	5. Opening The Letter

**Hi. I couldn't be bothered to wait until later, so here it is. I hope it's everything you wanted it to be as I couldn't think of anything else. Thank you to leggo lover 99, Carolina Blues, Rockchicangel1998 and Ciel Falls for their fab suggestions. This one's dedicated to you very special monkeys! I hope you enjoy it! Xxx**

* * *

She slipped her finger under the seal as she barricaded herself into her room.  
The seal broke as a chair was pushed up against it. She sat down on the floor and pulled out a piece of crisp, white paper. She unfolded the letter.

_Dear Skulduggery,_

_As you know, I did terrible things in the past, but war brings out the worst of everyone, even the people we thought didn't have a bad side. But you, of all people should know what a war does to your pride, your emotions, and even your actions. I know your secret._

_I've known for about two months, and I was going to discuss it with you when I arranged to meet you, but everytime I went to meet you, you never showed up. Please don't blame the barer of the letter. They did this because I need to tell you what I know._

_You and Valkyrie both have a very dark side, and you will both do anything to keep them both within you. Yet, anytime you need a little help, you call on violence to solve it. How does that make me a worse off person than you? You won't speak to me because of what I did hundreds of years ago, when your dark sides came out only last year. I wonder how people will react when they know the truth._

_I didn't want it all to come to this. I loved you, but you let this come between us. I'm sure you loved me at one point in time too. Yes, it was your wife, but it was long ago. Forgive and forget. I put it behind me. Why can't you?_

_So, Skulduggery, for the last time. Are you going to meet me? If so, then come by the Ole Cafe on Monday, 12 noon. Be there, or your secrets go public..._

_China._

Seraphic frowned, and not for the first time that day. What secret was so bad that China could use against them? Their secrets, if they had any at all, were small, minor ones that everyone already knew. She stood up to unblock the door. That's when the envolope fel on the floor and two new pieces of paper fell out. Seraphic grabbed a chair and turned around, noticing the envolope and new pieces on the floor. She picked them up and turned them around. One was a picture of Skulduggery, with Lord Vile scrawled on the bottom. The other was of Valkyrie with Darquesse scrawled across her face.

Seraphic felt the world she knew stop. This wasn't right. China was lying. They had never intentionally hurt anyone... Well,not killed anyone anyway. She looked back at the envolope and grabbed it. Out fell another picture, this time of Lord Vile himself. She studied the pictures carefully. Both Lord Vile and Skulduggery were standing with the same posture, the same thoughtful tilt of the head. Except things had changed. Lord Vile was watching someone in a murdeous way, trying to make their pain as bad as possible, yet Skulduggery's was a long look at Valkyrie.

Seraphic looked up. What should she do. After a few minutes of thinking and looking at the letter and photos, she decided. She looke dat the calender. Sunday. Perfect. She would get a good night's sleep, then give China a little visit at noon...

* * *

**I'm bored now. I will start to write chapter 6 now, and you may get another double chapter again. Aren't you lucky little chaps! Remember to never slurp and eat wash powder at the same time... It makes you hyper... Xxx**


	6. Porsche, Grand Mage And Boredom

Seraphic shook her head and jumped on the bed. She sighed, then laughed. She hadn't been in her bed for at least two days, since she visited Gordon's mansion. She suddenly felt very lonely.

She sat up and called Nibbles. She came running in on the second call. Seraphic pulled on her pyjamas, then snuggled in bed with Nibbles. As she did so, her mind wandered, and she started to feel sleepy...

_"Open the letter, did you? Find it interesting?" A wave of darkness picked her up and slammed her down on the ground. She screamed in pain. A figure came up to her and kicked her face._

_"You couldn't help it, could you? You were warned, and told,but you just couldn't stop yourself. All you had to do was give it to him. And you ruined it."_  
_He reached down and grabbed a handfull of hair and pulled her into a sitting position. His face was a few centimetres away from hers. She was bleeding, and tears were about to be let loose but she held on._

_"You should have not opened that door. You should have stayed under the bed and died ages ago. But no. Once again, you were too curious to leave it."_  
_He sighed and dropped her head. He turned, then spun and kicked her stomach. She folded and tears spilled out onto her cheeks. He lifted her on another wave of darkness. She writhed and struggled, but the darkness held, and the moment she paused for breath, she was slammed to the ground._

Seraphic opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Her body protested and at once, every of her part screamed in pain, making her whimper. What had just happened? The first dream she could remember except the old one, and she wakes up in pain... Wait. She got up, grimacing, and went to the mirror on the other side of her room. Her face had blood on it and her eyes were red.  
Was it really all a dream?

After a good shower, she got dressed and had breakfast. It was 8:00, and she had four spare hours. What to do... First, she should call a psychic, like Cassandra Pharos, and see about this alleged dream. Then, when it was all sorted, call Skulduggery, and apoligise for her weird behaviour the day before. She still had no idea why she had been like that. Putting that thought aside, she grabbed her phone, keys, coat, pulled on her boots, and left.

Cassandra had been no help. She had tried to look at this figure, but they had a hooded robe thing on, so she missed their face. Seraphic only prayed it wasn't Wreath. The only thing they did manage to find out was that it was a memory, not a dream. That fact scared her to the bone, and she remembered Skulduggery. Once she left Cassandra's, she phoned him, but it went to answer phone. She tried Val's, but it was turned off.

She looked at the clock on her phone. It read 10:30. God, she was bored. She thought of who could cheer her up, so she rung Erskine Ravel. She liked Erskine. He had the same quality humour and could always make her laugh. She found his number and called. He answered after three rings.

"Hello, Grand Mage speaking?" Seraphic smiled.

"Hello Erskine. I nearly forgot you were a Grand Mage."

"i haven't heard from you in a while. In fact, I haven't heard from you in almost a year. That's a lot, considering you only live four miles down the road. And I'm mostly in my office anyway."

"Yada yada yada. Now, Erskine, I'm extremely bored. Can I come visit you now?" She heard the Grand Mage of Ireland laugh.

"I don't see why not. As long as you don't walk. I hear you have a very nice car that I can test drive."

"Fair enough. Be there in a minute."

Seraphic pulled up outside the big building. Erskine came out wearing a tuxede, followed by a worried looking Tipstaff holding his Elde rrobes.

"Tipstaff, for heavens sake. I can't be seen in such a beatiful car with such a beatiful woman in robes! I'll only be half an hour."

Seraphic blushed as he spoke, but she ignored it and opened the car door. She winced as she got out.

"Don't worry Tipstaff, I'll look after him."

"Huh. Says the woman who looks black and blue all over!" Tipstaff mumbled something about the honour of being Grand Mage, the shuffled away.

"Seraphic, what have you been doing to yourself. You've cut your lip open and your holding your side." She looked at him. He genuinely looked worried. She sighed.

"Let'sjust have a ride. I need to meet someone at noon." They climbed in, Erskine in the drivers seat.

* * *

It was a black, convertible Porsche 911, and it went 183mph. The road was clear and the top was down. The pair put on some sunglasses and Erskine put his foot down. They laughed as they sped down the road. That it, until a tractor pulled out infront of them. Erskine jammed on the brakes, but the car kepton going. Seraphic leaned over and turned the steering wheel. The car hit the grass verge and flipped.

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuh! Seraphic and Erskine in a car crash.. And such a beautiful car! Waaaaaaahhhhhh! My precious Porsche! :-((((. Oh well, on with the show my little monkeys and caterpillars! Xxx**


	7. Meeting Her

Seraphic pulled herself out of the car. After two flips, the car landed on it's wheels and stayed still. She looked back. Erskine was undoing his belt. He had a long cut across his forehead and the way his arm was positioned showed it was broken. Seraphic rushed over to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, as she pulled him out.

"Yeah, just about. You... God, you look awful..."

"Thanks! You really know how to make me feel better!" They brushed themselves off. The farmer from the tractor ran to them.

"I'm so sorry! I'll take you and your car back! Ihaven't got much money, but I'll try to pay you as much-"

"No need, I don't want any of your money. It wasn't your fault. We were going way too fast on a country lane, but if you don't mind, we could use a lift back. Oh, and what time is it?" The farmer looked at his watch.

"About 11:50." Seraphic cursed, making Erskine laugh and shake his head.

"I've got to go, but he will still have that lift. He's very important, so make sure you see he goes in, okay?" Seraphic turned to go.

"Seraphic," Erskine caught her wrist. "You need medical attention, now."

"No. I need to be somewhere. I'll be okay, don't worry about me." She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine. I'll call in on you later." She ignored his complaints and ran in the direction of town.

* * *

She reached the cafe a little past twelve, but when she peered into the little window, she saw China. It was empty apart from her. Seraphic pulled all her courage together, and entered the cafe. China's face dropped when she saw her.

"You opened the letter, didn't you?" China stood up. Seraphic walked over to her and pushed her back down.

"What was it about? Because I know them more than you can ever know, and I know they aren't evil, twisted people." She loomed over China. To say China was the more powerful of the two, she looked worried. She was also older, and seeing China scared of her made her laugh.

"You, are the twisted one. That letter wouldn't have made him forgive you. He would have come here, and killed you. You wouldn't have stood a chance. Now, are we going to start what I came here to do?" China frowned.

"What's that then?" Seraphic grabbed her top.

"This." She threw China across the room. China touched her shoulders, then flung her arms wide. Seraphic rolled out of the way, and came back with twin fireballs. Once China was distracted, she dived on her and punched her face. Her nose pumped out blood. She was going to win. That's when the door opened and in walked Skulduggery and Valkyrie. They saw them fighting and pulled them apart.

"Wait until I get my hands on you again, China. I'll kill you!" Seraphic broke Valkyrie's hold and kneed China in the stomach. Skulduggery picked her up and took her out the door. Valkyrie followed.

"Mind telling us what that was about?" Skulduggery put his hands on his hips.

"Three days ago, I was given a letter by China, for you. But I nearly opened it. So this person told me not to. I went to the park to think about it, but I was threatened by Solomon Wreath. Then, I opened the letter, had a dream that was actually a memory, and was attacked." She gestured to her face and stomach. "Then, me and Erskine went for a ride in my car, and a tractor pulled out, and we rolled into a field. Then, I ran to meet China,like it said in the letter, and I beat her up. And now, here we are." The pair of detectives looked confused. Skulduggery held out his hand.

"Let me see this letter." Seraphic pulled a very blood soaked letter out of her pocket, with the photos. After a few minutes, he gave them to Valkyrie. Her face went from confused, to pure hate.

"I don't blame you for wanting to kill her. If you hadn't gone, I would have. How dare she!"

"Never mind her," Skulduggery grumbled. "What about you, Seraphic? You look like you've just jumped off a cliff. In all the time I've known you, you've never been this... messy."

"I'm fine. But could you drop me off at the Sanctuary. Erskine's worried I might need checking up on." Valkyrie smiled.

"He really cares for you, you know. He may even love you."

"What? Me? No way. Of all the people he could date, I'm by far not the best."

"Oh, come off it! You know he likes you! He's mad about you! All that time you hadn't talked him, he was distraught, lost without you. He really cares about you, Seraphic." Seraphictilted her head at Valkyrie.

"... Okay, some of that may have been exaggerated, but you can see he cares about you. What did he do when you came to meet China like that?"

"He tried to stop me. But-"

"And what did you do?"

"Well, I told him not to worry, then..."

"Then, what?"

"... I gave him a kiss on the cheek." Valkyrie grinned. "What? I didn't want him to worry!"

"So you like him and he likes you. That's all tied up in a neat bow."

"Anyway," Skulduggery interrupted, "Are we still taking you to the Sanctuary?"

"Yes please," Seraphic answered, ingoring Valkyrie's kissing noises.

* * *

**Time to be honest... I have a story crush on Erskine Ravel! Why not? He's kind of cute. But anyway, on with the show. Hope you don't think I'm too creepy now for liking him. But he is cute, though. Damn Derek landy for making him cute! Oh, and never shout at your laptop. It always comes back to bite your backside when you sleep. Ta ta my little monkeys! Xxx**


	8. A Happy Ending

**Sorry little monkeys, but this is going to be the last chapter. I want to try a hand at comedy. I'm a lot better at it. Keep looking for my fanfictions please. I shout with joy when you review them too. Thank you if you've been reading and following this story. Xxx**

After a few hours in the Sanctuary, being creeped out by Nye, Seraphic and Erskine were back to being themselves. They were in the middle of taking the mick out of China, when Skulduggery and Valkyrie walked in.

"Ah. i see you're both better now." Valkyrie winked at her. She rolled her eyes, making both of the laugh.

"Anyway,"Erskine interrupted, "Skulduggery, Valkyrie, I have a new case for you. A murder on Heath Avenue." Seraphic spun to him.

"What number?"

"Um... 35, the flats. Why-"

"Oh my God..." Seraphic went pale. She dropped into the chair behind her. Erskine put a hand on hers.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Tha- That's near my apartment... Who died?"

"Well, an old lady reported hearing a noise outside, so she went outside to see who it was, and they stole her things and stabbed her. There's three eye witnesses."

"Old? Was it the lady from number 4? Mrs Drift?"

"Y-yes... But from what I heard, she died pretty quickly." Seraphic sobbed. Erskine jumped back from shock. Valkyrie glared at Erskine, then went to comfort Seraphic. She looked up inbetween sobs.

"Whoever did this should die. She was a nice old lady. What would she have done? Have you found out who was in there?" She dried her eyes on the back of her hands.

"No, that was for Skulduggery and Valkyrie to work out. Whoever it was went through every room apart from her kitchen."

"The kitchen?" Seraphic stood up and looked at the Sanctuary's Prime Detectives. "Can I come too?"

"Well, in any other circumstance, yes... Bu tit's too close to you. We don't want you getting any more upset. Sorry." Seraphic nodded.

"Okay. It's fine, I understand. Oh, by the way, how did you know where I was earlier?" Valkyrie nodded to Ravel, who smiled.

"I phoned the Sanctuary and got a Cleaver to follow you, then report to me. I then called them," he jerked a thumb to the pair, "to get you."

* * *

Seraphic made her way back home. She opened the door to her apartment and saw a light on in the kitchen. She quietly made her way to the room and silently looked in. There, looking throuh one of the draws,was Solomon Wreath. She walked over to him, picked up the vase from the kitchen table, and smashed it over his head. He fell to his knees, so she reached up and got the frying pan. She gave him two big whacks to the head and a kick in the stomach, the dragged him into the room and tied him to a chair.

She rung Erskine, and he sent two Cleavers to pick him up. When they had gone, she slipped on her pyjamas and sat i the living room watching T.V. She ws bored. She sighed, then flicked through the channels. The Big Bang Theory was on, so she watched that. Five minutes into the program, there was a knock on the door. She walked into the hall and let the person in. It was Erskine. He too, was bored.

"You can watch telly with me if you like." He muttered something that may have been 'if I have to', then sat next to her. She looked at him. He turned to look at her. Seraphic sighed.

"Look Erskine, I have something to tell you." She took a deep breath. "I like you, a lot. Do you want to go on a date with me?"

"Sure, yeah." She smiled, and cuddled up to him. For the first time in years, Seraphic felt at eaze, at peace, with knew if any crazy,messed-up bad guys came, she would sort them.

For the first time in her whole life, she felt happy.


End file.
